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EFC Africa 09 more than lived up to expectations with one of the closest-matched fight cards Africa has ever seen with most of the fights going the full distance and a great end to the night with an action-packed heavyweight title fight!
Fight 1: Middleweight – Tyron ‘The Rush’ Rightford vs. Tshikangu ‘Jorma’ Makuebo
The opening fight of EFC Africa 09 saw Tyron and Tshikangu get into action with some great stand up exchanging some big punches. Tyron got a good punch in and took Tshikangu to the ground but Tshikangu turned it around and stood back up, pounding Tyron with some great punches before going to the ground again and getting Tyron into a headlock; Tyron saved by the bell. Round two saw Tyron come out with an already-bleeding face, throw an impressive spinning back kick and followed it by getting Tshikangu into a choke. Tshikangu turned it around and took Tyron to the floor and started with some heavy ground and pound before both fighters got tired and the ref stood them up. In round three both fighters came out tired; a few good leg kicks and punches were exchanged before they went to the ground. Tyron stood them up and got Tshikangu against the cage, landing some knees and foot stomps. A few more punches were exchanged before the bell rang for the end of round three and the end of the fight. The fight was won by a majority decision in favour of Tyron.
Fight 2: Lightweight – Ashley Calvert vs. Wade ‘Warrior’ Groth
One of the most impressive fights of the night – stand up for almost all three rounds. An array of heavy punches and kicks were traded between both fighters in round one with Ashley taking Wade to the ground and getting into full mount. Wade was impressive on the ground and landed some great shots from the less-advantageous position. Round two started off the same with lots of knees, kicks and punches being exchanged; Wade threw some hard punches and Ashley retaliated with some knees and kicks. Wade started to control the fight with his boxing skills landing big shots to Ashley’s face. Round three saw Wade show off some great combos from a spinning kick straight into a flying punch. 35 seconds into the third round, Wade smashed his fist into Ashley’s ribs and dropped him to the ground and took the win by TKO. This was a brilliant debut fight for Wade and the fans are going to love this fighter.
Fight 3: Light Heavyweight – Raymond ‘Raymanchoo’ Ahana vs. Jeremy ‘Happy Feet’ Scheepers
This fight was impressive and went all three rounds. The first round saw both fighters trying to take it to the floor with Raymond getting into the controlling position and Jeremy trying twice with the armbar (unsuccessfully) as Raymond picked Jeremy up and slammed him to the floor. Round two saw both fighters sizing each other up and circling the cage which the crowd was not pleased with. Raymond did try with a leg kick and slipped which Jeremy took advantage of, getting on top of Raymond and giving him a bit of a beating landing some ground and pound. Raymond took more of a beating from Jeremy in round three and was wobbly on his feet but Raymond was a hard fighter to put to sleep. Jeremy tried with a rear naked choke before the end of the round but Raymond was saved by the bell. Jeremy took the win by unanimous decision.
Fight4: Middleweight – Wade ‘G.O.A.T’ Henderson vs. Mawandi Vapi
Wade ducked for a big punch thrown by Mawandi and took him to the ground. Mwanadi got into the full mount position but Wade quickly turned it and manoeuvred onto Mawandi’s back getting a rear naked choke in and Mwanadi taping out one minute 35 seconds into the first round. Wade was happy to be in the winning seat again.
Fight 5: Lightweight – Wentzel ‘The Animal’ Nel vs. Manny ‘Loco’ da Silva
Wentzel went in hard taking Manny to the ground, Manny managed to flip Wentzel and you could see that both fighters had a good all-round MMA game. Some great grappling action took place before Wentzel tried to hook in a rear naked choke but resorted to some ground and pound from behind when the ref jumped in and called the fight by way of TKO three minutes 57 seconds into the first round. Wentzel attributes his wrestling skills to training with a Springbok wrestler.
Fight 6: Lightweight – Donald ‘Superman’ Nzirawa vs. Terrence ‘Trigger’ Griessel Morrison
Terrence went in picking up Donald and slamming him to the ground. Donald turned it but Terrence had his arm locked in for a choke but, unfortunately, he wasn’t locked in properly. Terrence remained calm and moved around getting into the full mount position landing some body shots and ground and pound. Round two and three saw Terrence wanting to take the fight to the ground. He stayed in control not landing all his punches as Donald knows how to block. In the end Terrence took the win by unanimous decision. Terrence stated that he is going to donate 10% of his winnings to Ozzy de Paiva who was injured in EFC Africa 03.
Fight 7: Welterweight – Steven ‘Extra Mile’ Mohama vs. Martin ‘The Punisher’ van Staden
Martin walked into the jam-packed Coca Cola Dome for his debut EFC fight confident and texting on his phone; the crown was looking forward to his debut. The fight got off to a quick start with an exchange of some heavy punches landed by both fighters. Martin slammed Steven to the ground, gaining control with some body shots before moving to some heavy ground an pound and defeated Steven two minutes 22 second into the first round.
Fight 8: Super Heavyweight – Dewald ‘The Beast’ Botes vs. Wilhelm ‘Tiny’ Strauss
Wow, these guys were huge. Dewald came running in with kick and punch combos dropping Wilhelm to the ground. Dewald landed some ground and pound and also tried to choke Wilhelm out. The fight was called in favour of Dewald by way of verbal submission.
Fight 9: Welterweight – Francois ‘The Frenchman’ Kabulu vs. Leon ‘Iron Lion’ Maynhardt
Round one saw both fighters come out quick and land some big punches. The fight went to the ground for a split second before standing up again. The crown was going crazy watching some great stand up which carried on for rounds two and three. Leon landed a big leg kick in round two, stumbling Francois and getting him into trouble. Both fighters were tired but still had the crowd’s support behind them. Francois came out in round three still dazed and took a beating of a combo from Leon which dropped him to the floor, giving Leon the win by way of TKO.
Fight 10: Heavyweight – Andrew ‘One Gear’ van Zyl vs. Bernardo ‘Black Panther’ Mikixi
Both fighters came out swinging. Some great punches were exchanged before the fight went to the floor with Andrew in control but Bernardo quickly moved out of it and stood up; this fight was very evenly matched. Bernardo then landed a huge punch to Andrew and took him to the floor and released some ground and pound before standing up and letting Andrew stand up. Andrew, bleeding from the left eye, locked onto Bernardo and threw some knees and uppercuts. Round two started off with some heavy stand up fighting and Andrew took Bernardo to the ground, got into high mount control and beat Bernardo until the ref called the fight. Andrew took the win by way of TKO. He stated that he loved his fight.
Fight 11: Featherweight – ‘King’ Leo Gloss vs. Charlie ‘Silky Smooth’ Weyer
This was Charlie’s debut fight and he was already a crowd favourite. Charlie took Leo to the ground quickly but Leo landed some heavy shots from the bottom. The stood up, briefly sizing each other out before going to ground again; Charlie kicked Leo away and stood up. A selection of punches were exchanged while the crowd went crazy for both fighters. As the bell went, Leo got in a few shots causing the ref to separate the fighters. Round two saw some leg kicks, jabs and punches thrown. Charlie landed an awesome jab and punch combo which Leo shook off. Leo then landed a big body shot just as the bell rang for the end of round two. Round three was mostly a stand up fight with Charlie looking gassed. Leo took the fight to the floor and smashed Charlie with some big body shots. This was a closely-matched fight and a unanimous decision was called in favour of Leo.
Fight 12: Middleweight – Liam Cleland vs. Jeremy ‘Pitbull’ Smith
This was Jeremy’s first fight back in SA after a year of fighting in America and he had something to prove. The fight started with some good grappling with both fighters trying to go to the ground and that they did. Liam stood up and stumbled, Jeremy took advantage of this and gained control. Liam tried an armbar, with no luck, and then tried again but Jeremy easily got out of it. Liam wanted to go to ground again when Jeremy landed a big knee to Liam’s face and knocked him to the ground. Some good ground and pound helped Jeremy take the win one second before the end of round one.
Jeremy now has the opportunity of a title fight against Garreth Mclellan
Fight 13: Heavyweight Title Fight – Norman ‘Chef’ Wessels vs. Ruan ‘Fangzz’ Potts
The fight of the night and the fight everyone was waiting for. Ruan took the fight to the ground and Norman quickly turned it around but the fight was briefly stopped by the ref for Norman’s foot to Ruan’s face while he was on the ground. The fight commenced and Ruan took Norman to the ground again and tried to get into full mount. Norman was brilliant on the ground and got out of it and stood up – he wanted Ruan stand up but he didn’t, leaving him frustrated. The ref stoods Ruan up and they grappled until the bell went for round one. Norman landed a big kick to Ruan’s stomach in the beginning of round two. They circled the cage exchanging a few leg kicks, Ruan slipped but Norman let him stand up. Ruan tried for the takedown but missed and Norman trids to get his hooks in when Ruan turned it around, got into full mount and landed some good punches. Round three saw Norman go for a big kick and slip; Ruan let him stand up. The fighters grappled against the cage and, when they separated, Ruan landed two big punches. Norman retaliated but Ruan had opened a big cut on Norman’s forehead and punished him with nonstop heavy hits. Norman, taking strain, went to the ground and Ruan took advantage of this with some ground and pound. The ref called the fight in favour of Ruan ‘Fangzz’ Potts by way of TKO. Ruan is now the new EFC Africa Heavyweight Champion.
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